The invention relates to a vehicle operating pedal unit for motor vehicles with a pedal mounted on a pedal lever which is pivotally supported on a pedal housing and biased to a pedal rest position by a return spring. A pedal lever bearing is formed by a bearing sleeve which is inserted into a bearing bore of the pedal housing and receives a slide cylinder including a sensor shaft cooperating with a pedal lever position sensor disposed in a sensor housing which is mounted on the pedal housing in the area of the bearing bore.
Such a vehicle operating pedal unit is described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,376. This vehicle operating pedal unit can be manufactured in a simple manner such that series manufacture, particularly preassembly of the unit, is facilitated. In this arrangement, the transmission of the pedal lever motion or, respectively, its position to the vehicle engine occurs electronically or respectively, electrically by a sensor shaft and a sensor member sensing the shaft or pedal lever position. The sensor member cooperates with the sensor shaft and is disposed in a sensor housing which is mounted on the pedal housing. Cables extending over a bearing sleeve provided for the pedal lever act as a friction brake giving a driver a particular operating feel during operation of the pedal. A hollow slide cylinder is inserted through a bearing bore of the pedal housing and through the bearing sleeve and the sensor shaft extends into the interior of the hollow slide cylinder. The slide cylinder has a double function: on one hand, it is used for firmly locking the bearing sleeve in position--axially and rotationally, and, on the other hand, it provides a guide and slide structure for the sensor shaft.
In the vehicle operating pedal unit according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,376, the hollow slide cylinder is inserted from one side axially into the bearing bore of the pedal housing and consequently into the bearing sleeve whereas the sensor housing is placed onto the opposite side over the bearing bore and is then connected to the pedal housing. The pivot angle of the pedal unit, however, is only about 20.degree. and is consequently, relatively small. This means that the components determining the position of the pedal must be very sensitive and must have very small tolerances.
It is the object of the present application to improve the vehicle operating pedal unit so as to further simplify the mass production and to provide for greater accuracy and operating security regarding the pedal position.